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These images suggest her sense of detachment from the baby. She sees the baby as a beautiful, lifeless object. Plath shows that she is still unable to connect with the baby emotionally.
Surprise and Helplessness: In the second stanza, Plath describes how the parents react. The mother calls the baby a “New statue.” It means the baby is beautiful and naked. But still she is unable to connect with her baby emotionally. The parents’ voices echo in the room as they look at their child. The echo seems to welcome the arrival of the child. However, this is a completely new experience for the parents. They do not seem to know what to do. They just stand helplessly. As the mother says:
“We stand round blankly as walls.”
Mother’s Feeling of Distance: The mother then speaks about her own feelings. She expresses her feelings of distance. She says she does not fully feel like the baby’s mother.
“I’m no more your mother
Than the cloud that distills a mirror…”
She compares herself to a cloud that slowly disappears in the wind. It shows her sense of disconnection from the baby. She feels strange, unsure, and even separate from her child.
Love and Beginning of a Bond: Now, Plath shows that the mother slowly begins to feel love and connection with her child. She admires the baby’s small breaths and cries. She calls it “moth-breath.” She lies awake and listens to her baby’s breath. She compares the breath to the sound of “a far sea” in her ear, calm and continuous. As she says:
“…I wake to listen:
A far sea moves in my ear.”
Even though the mother felt distant before, now she listens carefully to the small sounds of her child. It is the beginning of a gentle bond between mother and baby.
Tiredness and Dedication: The poem also shows the physical tiredness of motherhood. Plath says,
“One cry, and I stumble from bed, cow-heavy…”
The baby cries. She gets up quickly and goes to the baby. Though she feels “cow-heavy,” meaning very tired and slow, still she quickly goes to the baby. This shows her dedication (আত্মোৎসর্গ) as a mother.
Beginning of Communication: In the final stanza, the baby makes little sounds. She calls it the baby’s “handful of notes.” These small cries rise like balloons in the air. For the mother, these sounds are like musical notes. It shows the beginning of communication between mother and child.
In fine, Sylvia Plath presents motherhood in a very real way in “Morning Song.” A mother can feel strange, surprise, helpless, and distant from their newborn child at first. Soon enough, the mother begins to feel love and connection with her child. The poem is like a mother’s journey from shock and distance to care and intimacy. Motherhood is a totally new experience for a mother.
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